Top 5 Things Your Mother Never Told You about Giving Gifts
If your mom's like mine, she probably gave you lots of advice on
what to do about mostly everything, including giving gifts. But
sometimes what your mother didn't tell you about giving gifts is
what matters most.
1. Like, for instance, did your mother ever tell you not to give
women appliances as gifts? Mine didn't. In fact, I distinctly
remember the year she gave Aunt Maxinne a toaster for her
birthday. Do I have to tell you that Aunt Maxinne found it hard
to speak to Mom for several months? Aunt M had been hinting for
months about some cologne she wanted, and even at a young age, I
knew cologne was way better than a toaster. So never, even when
asked to, give an appliance to a woman as a gift unless it's a
wedding or shower gift.
2. And did your mom ever tell you that if you give an
inexpensive (i.e., cheap) gift, the receiver will think you're a
tightwad or have bad taste? They will. It's not that gifts have
to be expensive, but they do need to have some class or meaning
to the person you're giving the gifts to. You can get by with
any gift as along as it has a symbolic or fun meaning to them.
But never give cheap because you're, well, cheap!
3. The opposite of this is true too, and mom probably never told
you this either. Gifts don't always have to be expensive. What
gifts do need to be is meaningful or useful. No matter what the
cost, a gift that a person can't use or doesn't need will be
stuck in a closet and forgotten. The same is true for the
meaning of a gift. Maybe you want to give a friend a bottle of
bubbles because it reminds you of the summer when you were both
six and loved them so much you two spent days blowing bubbles.
By all means do! Your friend is certain to love the gift and be
reminded of those days too.
4. Which brings us to the next thing Mom probably never told you
about giving gifts. Gifts don't have to be oooh, so serious.
Some of the best gifts in the world are silly, but they bring a
smile to a person's face. These are usually some of the best
gifts in the world to give-and get. In this stressful, turbulent
world we live in, we all could use a gift that makes us smile
and reminds us not to take everything so seriously.
5. The last thing that your mom probably never told you about
giving gifts is that when in doubt, give money. She probably
told you giving money as a gift showed poor taste and planning.
Well, poohey, Mom. No one dislikes getting money as a gift! No
one! Money may just be the most thoughtful gift of all. After
all, it's the one thing everybody needs, can use and probably
won't ask for-unless they're your kids, that is.